The best and brightest horses representing the Virginia breeding and certified program were on display September 2 in Commonwealth Champions Day at Colonial Downs. Five stakes for varying ages and over multiple distances were presented as part of a 10-race card at the New Kent track. Among the top performances were a stakes riding double for jockey Horacio Karamanos and a second stakes win of the meet for Chambeau and Determined Kingdom.

Lots of excitement, special features, and premier horse racing are on tap for the 20^th running of the New Kent County Virginia Derby on Saturday, September 9. The nation’s top 3-year-old turf horses will compete on the widest turf course in North America. The day will be highlighted by the Grade 3, $500,000 Virginia Derby^® for 3-year-olds ($200,000 more than last year). Other stakes races will include the $250,000 Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks^®, $150,000 Korbel Da Hoss Stakes, $150,000… Continue reading →

Fields for five all-turf stakes — that will showcase Virginia-bred, -sired and -certified horses — are set to go this Saturday (Sept. 2) in the newly named Commonwealth Champions Day program at Colonial Downs. A total of $725,000 in purse money will be up for grabs between the five. Four of the $150,000 stakes — the Camptown, Bert Allen, Meadow Stable and Nellie Mae Cox — are open to horses in the three categories noted while the $125,000 Jamestown is for Virginia-bred/sired 2-year-olds.  … Continue reading →

Iapetus Racing and Diamond T Racing’s Virginia-bred Gigante made his triumphant return to the winner’s circle by pulling a massive 22-1 upset victory in the August 12 Grade 2 $500,000 Secretariat Stakes at Colonial Downs. The race was held in Virginia for the first time, making the victory for the Commonwealth that much sweeter.

Gigante, the 2022 Virginia-bred Champion 2-year-old, was ridden by Javier Castellano for trainer Steve Asmussen and… Continue reading →

Nominations closed August 18 for five all-turf stakes on the Commonwealth Champions Day program scheduled for Saturday, September 2 at Colonial Downs that will showcase Virginia-bred, -sired and -certified horses with $725,000 in purse money on the line. Four of the $150,000 stakes – the Camptown, Bert Allen, Meadow Stable and Nellie Mae Cox – are open to horses in the three categories noted while the $125,000 Jamestown is for Virginia-bred and/or -sired 2-year-olds. 

A pair of Pennsylvania-bred/Virginia-Certified 2-year-olds made their Colonial Downs debuts August 5 in $150,000 5-furlong dirt stakes, and both came away with victories — though they occurred in very different fashion.

Cash is King and LC Racing’s Carmelina and Robert and Tammy Klimasewski’s Going Up got their pictures taken respectively in the Keswick Stakes for fillies and Hickory Tree Stakes for males. 

The former… Continue reading →

The “Festival of Racing” program at Colonial Downs, scheduled for Saturday August 12, features three major graded stakes races — the G1 Arlington Million (Race 10), G1 Beverly D (Race 9) and G2 Secretariat Stakes (Race 8). A total of $2 million in purse monies will be on the line between those three stakes. The first of 11 races is scheduled for 1:30 PM and general admission is free!

(NEW KENT, VA — 8/9/2023) — The second, third and fourth… Continue reading →

Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) is proud to bring three major graded turf course stakes races to the New Kent track for the first time, this Saturday, August 12 – the Grade 1 Arlington Million, the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes and the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes. Combined purses for the three stakes races at the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing Presented by New Kent County are $2 million! All are very prestigious, have storied histories and all have been run for… Continue reading →

Cash Is King and LC Racing’s Carmelina and Ray Pennington III’s King Kontie are respective early favorites in co-featured $150,000 dirt sprint stakes for Virginia-Restricted 2-year-old horses Saturday (August 5) at Colonial Downs. The former heads a field of 11 in the Keswick Stakes for fillies while the latter heads a field of eight in the Hickory Tree for males. The pair will be contested as races 6 and 7 at the five-furlong distance.

Carmelina is a Robert Reid Jr.… Continue reading →

Peggy Augustus, a successful owner and breeder who bred Eclipse Award winners Stellar Wind (Curlin) and Johnny D. (Stage Door Johnny), passed away Sunday at her home on her Old Keswick Farm in Charlottesville, VA. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by one of her former trainers, Bill Hirsch Jr.

“She was a great lady, just one of the best,” Hirsch said. “The thing I remember most about her was that, unlike most owners, she knew how to win… Continue reading →